The Lone Dissenter: Kansas City Fed’s Esther George

Jan 30, 2013 3:08 pm ET

By Sudeep Reddy and Michael S. Derby

The baton has been passed. The Federal Open Market Committee has a new dissenter.

The annual rotation in voting slots for regional bank presidents gave Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George her first opportunity to vote as a central bank policymaker. And she made her mark by breaking from her colleagues in an 11-1 vote to leave the Fed’s bond-buying program in place.

In its post-meeting statement, the Fed said Ms. George “was concerned that the continued high level of monetary accommodation increased the risks of future economic and financial imbalances and, over time, could cause an increase in long-term inflation expectations.”

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